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Nasdaq OMX and NYSE Euronext support the US Securities and Exchange Commission's proposal to ban flash orders in all trading, while the Chicago Board Options Exchange opposes it for the options market, according to comments to the SEC that were made public this week.

The SEC proposed banning flash orders last year, responding to concerns that some investors are getting an unfair advantage. Flash orders give certain large traders sneak peeks at market activity.

CBOE said it has saved its customers more than $3.6m in a single month through flash orders. "This very tangible benefit to investors should not be ignored by the Commission when considering the proposed flash ban," the comment letter said.

A general agreement among exchanges and market participants emerged last year that flash orders ought to end in US stock markets, with most markets dropping the order type.

Debate over a similar practice in the options markets has become more divisive, as some market operators have argued that flashing unfilled orders gives investors another shot at having their business done on the market of their choosing, as opposed to another exchange where they may pay higher fees.

In a flash order, a firm wishing to buy or sell stock can elect to freeze the order on an exchange for as long as half a second. Critics say this gives a select group of high-speed traders a window into the direction of the market and lets them make lightning-quick trades to profit.

"Flash orders degrade the transparency and price-discovery functions that are at the heart of a true national market system," Nasdaq said in its comment letter. "Not all market participants may see, or attempt to trade with, flash orders until a much smaller group of market participants gets first shot at them."

NYSE said the SEC should eliminate flash orders independent of other proposals such as caps on trading fees. The SEC has proposed reducing those fees for customers of some options exchanges at 30 cents per contract. A similar fee cap already exists in U.S. stock markets.